Murder in Burnt Orange

July 11, 2011
Set in the sweltering summer of 1905 in South Bend, Ind., Dams's absorbing seventh Hilda Johansson mystery (after 2008's Indigo Christmas) finds Hilda, a Swedish immigrant who's moved up the social ladder from housemaid to lady, pregnant with her first child and restless. "Downright fratchety" is how her worried Irish husband, Patrick, describes her to his Uncle Dan, proprietor of Malloy's Dry Goods. For diversion, Hilda starts to look into local crimes, including a suspicious fire at Malloy's store in which a man burns to death. The deliberate derailment of a train in Ohio that kills 21, one of a number of recent train wreckings, points to a greater mystery. In the end, Hilda must try to avert a major Labor Day riot. Well-portrayed characters and a final surprise sure to please series fans make this a winner.

August 1, 2011

Pregnant and miserably uncomfortable in a 1905 Indiana heat wave, Hilda (Indigo Christmas) manages to get distracted by local labor unrest, arson, and, naturally, murder.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2011
It's been a long wait for fans of Hilda Johansson, the Indiana maid turned lady of the house. Three years, in fact, since the publication of Indigo Christmas. But, for Hilda, it's only been a little more than a year. It's 1905 now, and South Bend is being hammered by a sweltering heat wave. Combine that with being six months pregnant, and let's just say that Hilda is seriously out of sorts. Her mood brightens after friends and family convince her to put on her amateur sleuth hat again and look into a series of mysterious train wrecks. The intimidating list of potential culprits includes Russian anarchists and radical unionists, and the case becomes even more alarming when murder enters the picture. Hilda seems like an old friend now, and this seventh novel in the series throws some new personal challenges at her, as she prepares to be a mother and tries to settle into the unfamiliar role of lady of the house. Dams again draws on real historical events for inspiration, and, as usual, the setting is meticulously rendered. Another strong entry in this consistently fine series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)